26/06/2017
PUNE: Since the
beginning of June, 265 autorickshaw drivers have had their licences revoked for
breaking traffic rules and refusing to ply. Autorickshaw drivers have also
been charged penalty for other offences, including not wearing their uniform or
badges, illegal parking, and misbehaviour.
The sustained drive has been initiated in response to repeated
complaints from citizen groups about autorickshaw drivers' high-handedness, in
particular, their refusal to ply on certain routes or demand return fare. The
action involved plain clothes policemen posing as customers to gauge the
driver's response. The autorickshaw drivers' union has term the drive illegal
and unfair.
According to data compiled by the police, most cases have been
reported from Shivajinagar, Koregaon Park and Dattawadi divisions.The
maximum number of licenses have been revoked in Koregaon Park and Dattawadi
divisions. The drive has already amassed over Rs1.3 lakh for the state coffers.
Nitin Pawar, convener of the city's Rickshaw Panchayat,
claimed the police action was unjustified and unwarranted. "The police is
behaving like it has set a daily target of collecting fines. Worse, the police
pose as dummy customers, trick drivers with questions and issue challan
within minutes.
Many autorickshaw drivers come from poor backgrounds and
cannot afford to have their licenses revoked even for a day . Here, they are
forced to make many trips to the Regional Transport Office to get back
their license and are forced to pay a hefty fine too," he said.
In
response, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) stated that the attitude of
autorickshaw drivers needs to change. "We are taking action based on
complaints of harassment, especially of women and senior citizens. An
autorickshaw driver cannot refuse a journey however small the distance,"
he said.
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